Making choices

The sound of a steam whistle wasn't the one Hase would choose as his alarm clock, but he didn't have any choice. The loud noise broke him out of his sleep, making the stallion open his eyes and take a look at his surroundings.

The pegasus was lying in a normal bed, with sheets and pillows, giving him the impression, that he's back in the " Lucky Miner ". However, he soon felt he was moving, and sat up in his bed to see what was actually going on. He was in a big wooden barn or something like that, most of which was occupied by Formidon.

" Well, well, " his friend spotted him.

" , you awoke. "

" How long have I been sleeping? " the inventor asked, still having no idea why he felt as if he was moving, while he was lying in a barn.

" A day and a few hours. " the black dragon replied.

" It's the second day since we've left Smith's Keep. "

Hase got up. Something felt weird around his right flank, so he looked back. A bandage was put around it.

" Arcane Bliss healed it with remedies and magic. She said you should be OK, if you don't move too much the first day after she sewed the arrow wound. Luckily, you slept it through. It should be safe to remove that bandage. " Formidon told him.

A black oreol with sharp edges surrounded the bandage and removed it from Hase's flank. Only a small scar was left. The inventor seemed surprised he felt no pain. After this surprise passed, the pegasus' attention was brought back to the constant movement he felt.

" What are we in? " he asked. From all he could see, it was a big wooden room with one single window high above his bed to illuminate it.

" A wagon. The smith got it from one of his friends in Smith's Keep. It's where I should hide during the day. Since it is big enough, Arcane Bliss decided it could serve as an infirmary as well. " the dragon replied.

Right then the steam whistle sounded again.

" Oh. Also, some weird steam- powered invention is pulling it. " Formidon recalled, as the whistle sounded.

After Hase looked around for a few more seconds, he noticed a door next to Formidon's giant claw. He walked over to it and opened it. The door swung out, revealing a picturesque landscape. The fog, the rain and the ashes of Smith's Keep were long gone. Instead, they were replaced with grass fields all the way to the horizon. When Hase leaned from the edge of the door, he saw, that the road led to a chain of high moutains - probably the Belt. They were still pretty far away though.

Feeling curious, the inventor flew out and closed the door of the wooden wagon. Out of pure curiosity, he decided to see how much time he'd be able to stay airborne. He spent that time studying the thing his dragon friend would call home for about a week from the outside. The wagon was fit for a dragon of Formidon's size, which ment it could hold two normal dragons. The wagon was 30 feet tall, about that much wide and almost 100 feet long. It didn't leave the dragon much free space, but the scientist suspected that was the biggest wagon Forge could put his hooves on without looking suspicious. Even now it seemed as if it could easily be a home to an entire circus.

Being busy studying the wagon, Hase was quite surprised to find out, that he was still flying - even more, moving with the wagon -  about 2 minutes later. He stared at his wings in awe and challenged them furtherly by flying up and landing on the top of the wooden construction. His wings still refused to betray him. The stallion jolted happily in the air, made a mid- air barrel roll, and stopped his fall about an inch from the wooden surface. The next few minutes the scientist spent did any aerial stunts he could think of. Actually, what he considered stunts were actually the very basics of flight, that foals learned before starting school, but for the first flight of the excited stallion each seemed as hard as a sonic rainboom.

After he had finished testing the capabilities of his wings, Hase peeked over the edge of the wagon to check two things: first, where his friends were, and second, what kind of machine was pulling the extremely heavy dragon inside the wooden construction. The pegasus didn't see either, since he was blindfolded by gray smoke. He hadn't noticed it before, probably because of his enthusiasm, but now he experienced it with three of his senses - sight, taste and smell.

The inventor coughed, hinting his presence to his friends, who were actually walking right in front of the machine and annoyedly keeping up with its slow speed.

" Is that you, Hase? " Rarity asked. Her question was left without an answer. For a moment she thought some of her other friends had coughed, until a black smudged figure passed right through the smoke. It spread its wings just as it was about to hit the ground, the wave of air blowing Fluttershy, which was right in front of the figure, 's mane back as if there was wind. The sillhouethe turned to be Hase, who landed behind the nature- loving pegasus.

" I see Arcane Bliss didn't lie about the effectiveness of her remedies. " Rarity stated, after delivering a brief kiss to her coltfriend's cheek.

" Apparently she didn't. I have to take samples of it. Imagine what its refined... " the inventor was interrupted by the laughs of the Mane 6.

" Is that really what you care about most after an extensive sleep? " Twilight asked him.

" No. " Hase smiled. Science could wait. Right now, he simply didn't feel like it. Everything around him, the far mountains, the grass plains, the gravel road, all urged him to get out and explore. Arcane's remedy could wait for a rainy day.

It turned out only the Mane 6 were in front of the wagon. After the experience with the robbers, the rest of the group had formed an ariergarde, since the huge wagon seemed a big temptation for the thieves. Only the purple alicorn and her friends were left in front of it, to signalise in case of any danger. After he took in the landscape ahead of him, Hase couldn't turn at least a bit attention to the weird device pulling the wagon. To the untrained eye it seemed as a normal car, with countless metal pipes installed on it. What Hase saw, however, was a steam car. Which efficiency was too suboptimal to simply be ignored.

" I need water! " he yelled. As he said that, what he had requested was poured over him. Pinkie Pie giggled, while Hase turned around to see Hydro, the Sentinel of Rivers.  The smile on his muzzle could only be diferentiated because of the fact his muzzle was currently formed of muddy water.

" Welcome back aboard, captain. " Hydro greeted him with a hint of humour in his voice.

" I require your services, boatspony. " Hase played along. He opened a lid with his telekinesis, revealing red charcoal. Guessing what he was required to do, the prankster pegasus shot a stream of water out of his left forehoof right on the charcoal. The burning fire was extinguished, producing white smoke, and the machine stopped in its path. Hase's friends also stopped, not sure what the black pegasus was doing.

" What's happening here? " the voice of the angry Forge was heard. Avoiding any accusation, the tall water pegasus flew away, leaving Hase as the sole reason for the halting of the machine, and, apparently, of the whole group.

As the earth pony stallion showed up behind the corner of the wooden wagon, Hase had already taken a wrench and a hammer from Applejack's saddlebags and was "upgrading", as he had put himself, the steam car.

" Do you have any idea how much energy you waste by having such a small turbine in such a big pipe? " the scientist turned to the smith, while holding one piece of the main pipe and hitting it with the hammer, both surrounded by his black magical oreol. Forge was left dumbfounded, and just as he was about to reply to the inventor, he was already installing the piece of pipe back in its spot. Hase threw two shovels of coal in the coal tank beneath the water boiler. As he nodded at Blaze, the second pony to come around the corner, flames engulfed the coal before the scientist shut the door. Since the upgrade had only taken him about two minutes, the water was still pretty hot. So not even a minute later, the machine moved again, with thrice its previous speed. Before the group had to slow down, and now all the Sentinels of the Elements had to climb on the roof, so that the steam car would move with normal pony speed.

" I'm glad that I was useful. " Hase smiled. After that, he looked at Rainbow Dash and flapped with his wings. The cyan mare got the meaning of this gesture and flew in the air. The black stallion went airborne the second afterwards, chasing his flight teacher. He knew he couldn't catch up, but was still rather surprised he could fly with the speed he was currently flying. The cyan mare stopped about 300 feet above the ground and hovered in one spot. After about half a minute, Hase managed to catch up.

" You seem to have no trouble with the vertical climb. " Dash commended him on his succesful climb. Hase smiled. until he felt something push him from behind. He turned around and saw it was a small cloud. He raised an eyebrow and spoke:

" That should be impossible. The density of clouds doesn't suggest... "

" You can't explain it with science. " Dash giggled.

" It's just so. Clouds are material for pegasi. You can't explain Cloudsdale, now can you? "

Hase thought as hard as he could, going over any physical, chemical or even biological reason for the existence of the soaring cloud town. He couldn't come up with anything.

" Not really. " he admitted.

" Exactly! " Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

" Flying isn't about " Why? ". It's about " Why not? . If you start asking yourself why something's possible, soon you'll find out only half of the things make sence. For an example, neither you nor I should be able to fly. Our wings are too small to support our weight. "

As Hase thought it over, that statement was absolutely true.

" I guess you can't explain magic with science. " the black pegasus gave up.

" Now let's get flying. "

Dash grinned.

" Today I'll teach you the basic manouvres. Sharp turns, dives, climbs, aerodynamic mid- flight stance - all of this stuff. "

As she finished her sentence, Dash flew over to Hase and sat on the small cloud behind him. She leisurely flapped her wings, making the cloud move in direction towards the mountains, so that they wouldn't stay behind from the group bellow.

" Now, " she told the blue- maned stallion as she lay.

" , show me what you think is an aerodynamic shape. "

Having studied aerodynamics and hydrodynamics when he was a foal, Hase put his hooves next to his body and looked down, taking on the most aerodynamic shape a pony's body could take, according to his studies.

" Well, that is aerodynamic, " Rainbow Dash noted.

" , but not really the aerodynamics you need. You need aerodynamics when you want to fly really, really fast. Will you choose to stare at the ground while flying with more than 600 feet per second? "

Hase had to admit his take on aerodynamics wasn't the one he'd choose in real life. He recalled what position Dash flew in when she made a sonic rainboom for the mayor's birthday last month. He spread his forehooves up and his back hooves back and looked forward.

" Now that's more like it. " Dash approved.

" Straighten your body more. There, there... perfect. " the pegasus mare instructed him, until he was hovering in the perfect fast flight position.

" Now let's see how you are in practic. "

Without any further warning, Rainbow Dash jumped from her cloud and dived, her wings close to her body, while she was in the perfect aerodynamic shape she had just taught Hase. Not wanting to let his teacher down, the inventor followed her, forming the best imitation of this position. Mid- air he realised the air was actually helping him enter it. It wanted to make him as aerodynamic as possible. The pegasus simply let it do so, and soon he was also falling down in a perfect aerodynamic position. He broke it a few times, so that he could practice entering it, and about 60 feet above the ground, it only took him about a second. Hase could see Rainbow Dash about 20 feet bellow him. The scientist wondered how they were going to stop, since they were falling down with terminal velocity. Then, about 30 feet above the ground, the cyan mare spread her wings and soared above the ground, her body paralel with the ground. Hase followed her example. The duo, still moving at a very high speed, went past the wooden wagon and flew forward, until Rainbow began climbing again. Smiling, the inventor followed her, ready to learn whatever his teacher had to offer him.

Rarity also smiled, as she saw the two pegasi fly up. Hase was still his old self. This dimension was just making him a bit more... tense. It made all of them tense with its brutality. Her coltfriend was simply overreacting, and was also probably a bit overprotective. As the white unicorn returned her gaze to the grass fields on the two sides of the road, she noticed something strange. Everything except herself was darker, as if she had put on her sunglasses. She was about to express her confusion, before she fell into a dark hole with sharp edges.

She fell on something wooden. When the fashionista mare stood up, she understood, that this wooden thing was the top of the wagon and what had just happenned was her going through a chaotic portal. Since Vortex was standing there right in front of here.

" I need to talk to you without anypony else listening. " Vortex spoke. As he said that, the same darkening spell occured again. Rarity supposed it was a sound- blocking barrier.

" Well, I am all ears. " Rarity replied.

" Do you know what else besides Formidon lies down in this wagon? " the black alicorn asked her.

The white unicorn was puzzled. Did the violet- maned stallion mean the bed?

" The Mace of Rage. Also, the Whip of Despair. " the subject of their conversation was cleared out, as Vortex replied to his own question.

" Do you know what troubles me more? That they stay there, instead of hovering around Hase. "

" Isn't that a good thing? " the mare was furtherly befuddled. The black stallion shook his head.

" My son isn't supposed to have such a control over those weapons. Of course, this case is unprecedented, but still... one wouldn't expect he could control their binding spell so well as to its absolute abnegation, when they are not needed. This spawns dark thoughts inside my mind. That we have done nothing to take Hase off the dark path we all know will ultimately be the reason for his destruction. " Vortex's words were starting to scare Rarity.

" What can we do about it? I mean, there has to be something I can do! " the white mare exclaimed, worried for the pony of her heart.

" Yes you can. Break up with him. "

Rarity was so shocked, that she couldn't talk for about 10 seconds. She was simply standing there with her mouth opening and closing, while she was comprehending the words of the black alicorn.

" How... how will this help in any way? " she asked.

" Think about it. " the black alicorn replied.

" Why did he get the Mace? He thought you were in danger. I saw him jump off from Formidon's back, at least 30 feet above the ground, only as he heard you scream. He than slaughtered a whole armed robbers gang just because he thought otherwise they'd kill you. They would have, because phoenixes are expensive, but I'm sure my nieces would have been able to contain the situation much better than he did.

Then you might consider what happenned in Smith's Keep. You were ponynapped, and Hase went as far as to temporarily remove his own rage, in order to be able to think clearly and rescue you. He didn't kill anypony, but he went through the whole guard department of the town only to get to you. He got the Whip of Despair. Don't you see, " Rarity was starting to realize Vortex's words made sence.

" ,the brutality of this world, combined with my son's wish to protect you, makes him do something he would never do otherwise. I know, because I've watched him for all of his life, hiding in the shadows. He isn't the kind of pony, who would kill for anything.

I understand, that your mutual feelings are very strong, and I respect that. However, it is both for Hase's own good and for the group's good, that you pretend to break up with him. Heartbreak will only make him feel grief, and that's not a feeling among those from the weapons. He will go through a hard week, but everything will be alright in the end. You'll explain everything to him when we get back to Equestria, and all of us will be happy again.

Please, Rarity. I know how cruel I sound, but it is for the good of us all. "

A tear slipped down the white unicorn's cheek.

" Fine. " she spoke with a voice, close to a whisper.

The sun was near sunset, when Rainbow Dash and Hase landed amongst the group, which was stopping to set up a camp. iI turned out, that Forge had also bought tents, which were hidden behind Formidon's tail. As Hase was putting up his, who he was going to share with his father, he was approached by Rarity.

" How are things back on the ground? " the pegasus asked, still overflowing with adrenalin from the last dive.

" Well, they are fine. " Rarity spoke with a calm voice, trying to hold back her tears.

" Is something wrong? " the upset stallion turned to the fashionista mare.

" We need to talk. " Rarity got in Hase's tent. Confused, the stallion followed her.

The white unicorn turned around. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was sobbing.

" What happenned? " Hase asked, while he was hugging her.

" Hase... I.... we can't be together anymore. "

The final miligrams of adrenaline slipped away as Hase broke his hug.

" What? " Hase asked. However, instead of replying, Rarity just headed for the exit of the tent.

" Is it because of me? " Hase peeked from the exit, only to see the white mare hide behind the corner of the wooden wagon, about 30 feet away. He didn't know Rarity hid there to cry her eyes out because of what she had just done. Much darker thoughts roamed in his mind.

As the sun was setting, a dark figure flew up in the air and isolated itself on a cloud, pink from the light of the setting sun. Hase didn't cry. It was useless to do so. He was thinking about what had just happenned. What had worried him the most was the way Rarity ran away. It was almost as if she was... afraid of him. The black pegasus sighed. Of course she would be. Hadn't he shown himself as a monster the last two days? Hadn't he done something horrible he would never forgive himself for? He was starting to wonder how she had managed to wait for so long.

For a moment Hase considered summoning his weapons to remove those feelings, but he then realized, that heartbreak doesn't contain neither rage or despair. It was a mildly cold feeling, the kind of cold nopony likes. It wasn't the first time the black pegasus' heart has been broken, so the burning element was absent. There was only the cold. As the inventor was watching the sun set beneath the horizon, he promised himself not to bother any of his friends with this. He doubted anypony amongst them would feel any compassion for him. The scientist couldn't distract him with his personal problems. There was a much greater problem hanging above their heads: how to reach the capital safely. Hase couldn't distract them from that. If he ever wanted to go back to Equestria - the only thing, that was left from his dreams - he'd have to hold back his feelings.

Just as he thought that, a big black figure hid the half of the sky with its enormous wings.

" Are you alright? " Formidon, the only friend Hase had left, asked with his deep voice. He was probably going to be the only one concerned.

" Absolutely! " Hase faked enthusiasm to deceive the dragon. He fell for that.

" The smith wants me to let you know dinner is ready. " the dragon said, before diving back down, followed by the pegasus.

The group was divided in three groups around three fires. The Runcinians, or at least Forge, Arcane Bliss and Midnight Bell, were gathered around the first, the six sentinels of the elements- around the second, while Spike, the Mane 6 and the Princesses were gathered around the third. They had left a free spot for him. Hase saw Rarity laughing at one of Pinkie Pie's jokes. As she looked at him , she frowned for a moment, but before anypony but her ex- coltfriend could notice it, her smile reappeared on her face. Putting on the best fake smile he had, the black pegasus completed the circle around the campfire.

" Ar' ya sad or somethin' ? " Applejack was sitting right next to him and recognised his faked state almost immeadietly.

" Why fret when there's so much fun things to do around a campfire? " Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Her marshmallow (probably nopony could explain where she found it) hung on the top of the stick she held in her mouth.

" Not at all! " Hase's laugh managed to convince the two earth ponies.

" You really seemed sad for a moment. " Fluttershy noted.

" Yeah. Did you receive a cramp from the training? " Dash wondered.

" Yes, that was it, but now I'm absolutely fine. " Hase continued lying to his friends.

" Are you sure? You seemed almost depressed. " Twilight noted.

" Like Twilight when she finds out the Cutie Mark Crusaders have made a book into a hiding spot. " Spike's words caused a second laugh wave amongst the ponies. This time the inventor also joined in, doing his best to fake a laugh.

" But seriously, if something troubles you, I am ready to listen. " Celestia assured him.

" A shared problem is half a problem. " Luna tried to convince him. Hase's discontent was slowly turning into spite, as he saw all of his friends fake their concern. Still not thinking straight because of the heartbreak, he believed, that his friends hated him and only showed concern out of pure politeness.

His spite reached its boiling point when the scientist heard steps behind his back and turned around to see it was his father with a concerned look on his face.

" Before you even ask, " Hase inserted his spite in his words.

" , no, father, I am completely alright, and yes, I am having a great time and I don't have any problem I would like to talk about! "

For the last few words Hase had stood up and walked over to his father, which enabled his friends to see the cloak, that appeared on his back. It began appearing from his neck, with a small black collar to make it look elegant. The mantle than slid down Hase's back, perfectly adjusted to his height. It was pitch black, covered his whole back and its edge hung two inches above the ground.

Recalling the Mantle of Deceit from Vortex's story, and linking it with Hase's weird behaviour, Applejack's doubts were confirmed.

" Yah lied to us. There is somethin' ya're hidin' . " she spoke.

The scientist turned around, the sudden movement seemingly making the mantle fall to the one side. However, after Applejack blinked, she saw it was in the same position as before. The pegasus' blue eyes irradiated spite.

" A brilliant conclusion, Captain Obvious! " Hase said before flying away and hiding behind the wooden wagon.

" Formidon! " Hase spoke.

" Yes. " the dragon replied from inside the wagon.

" Would you have anything in mind if we travel together tomorrow? We'll fly high enough, so that nopony notices you. I simply need to clear my mind. " Hase replied, the spite vanishing from his voice.

" Not at all. " the dragon assured him.